Andy Pettitte closes out career by shutting down Astros in complete game

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Pitching one last time before hometown fans in a visiting team’s uniform, Andy Pettitte displayed the grit and guile that embodied his 18-year career, holding the Astros to five hits and pitching his first complete game since 2006 in a 2-1 Yankees win before 37,199 at Minute Maid Park.

It was Pettitte’s 438th start in a Yankees uniform, tying Whitey Ford’s team record, and his 27th complete game. And it came before a supportive crowd that cheered a Yankees pitcher as if he were one of their own – which he will be as he ends his career after today’s season finale.

For his Yankees career coupled with three seasons (2004-06) in an Astros uniform, Pettitte (11-11), who grew up in Deer Park, will retire with a 256-153 record and the admiration of players and fans of all persuasions.

“I couldn’t dream of this to work out the way it did,” he said. “I’m just so thankful and feel so blessed and fortunate and I feel like God worked this out exactly perfect. … It’s almost fairy tale.”

Fans gave him a standing ovation as he took the mound for the ninth, chanted “An-dy Pett-itte” throughout the inning and cheered when Yankees manager Joe Girardi left him in after a two-out single by Chris Carter.

Pettitte, who retired 15 of the last 17 batters he faced, got the final out on a J.D. Martinez grounder to third, pounded his hand in his glove, hugged catcher Chris Stewart and shook hands with teammates.

The Astros remained in their dugout in a show of respect and then walked onto the field, clapping, as Pettitte gestured with his glove in their direction.

“Especially their guys (the Astros) and the fans here … they don’t know me, that team over there,” he said. “I appreciate that. And our guys obviously know me better than anybody and just so many guys I’m so close to and I’ve been around a long time. That was a moment I felt like I didn’t deserve, and I appreciated it.”

The loss went to Astros starter Paul Clemens (4-7), who retired 10 in a row entering the sixth before the Yankees scored twice in a series of events that hearkened back to a comic strip scene in summarizing the Astros’ luckless season.

Stewart singled to lead off and, with Curtis Granderson at the plate, Clemens apparently suffered a cut to his thumb from one of his fingernails and consulted with Astros trainers for about five minutes before electing to remain in the game.

Clemens struck out Granderson but allowed a base hit to Eduardo Nunez, sending Stewart to third. Stewart scored the tying run on a Robinson Cano base hit and was lifted for Chia-Jen Lo, who walked Alfonso Soriano to load the bases with one out.

Lo got the second out when Jose Altuve dove to his right to spear Lyle Overbay’s line drive, but that moment of excellence was followed by a moment reminiscent of Michael Binkley, the flop-haired hero of the 1980s comic strip Bloom County.

With Zoilo Almonte at the plate and the bases loaded with two out, Astros shortstop Jonathan Villar broke towards second with the pitch and catcher Matt Pagnozzi tried to throw behind the runner to pick off Cano. Instead, he appeared to hold up and spiked the ball into the dirt, Binkley style, a few feet in front of home plate (a flub that, in Bloom County, drew the reply, “Just beautiful, Fernando”).

The ball dribbled behind home plate, and Pagnozzi’s toss to Lo was too late to get Nunez. Rhiner Cruz, Kevin Chapman, Josh Zeid and Josh Fields held the Yankees to three hits the rest of the way, but the Astros could not get the tying run.

“It’s bases loaded. It’s two outs,” said Astros manager Bo Porter. “You don’t want middle infielders vacating their position. The third out is in the batter’s box. You get that guy out, and nobody scores. … It’s definitely a play where you’d hope they make better decisions.”

Houston, wearing its “Los Astros” uniforms for Hispanic Heritage Day, took the lead in the fourth when Altuve singled and went to second on a Matt Dominguez groundout. Altuve was off on a 3-2 pitch to Chris Carter and was halfway to third as Carter grounded to shortstop Brendan Ryan. He kept running as Ryan threw to first and beat first baseman Lyle Overbay’s throw home.